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Tag Archives: Kindness

Now that we have entered the festive period and December is in full swing, I thought I’d share with you all my top five favourite things about Winter and the Christmas run up.

The count down to Christmas is in full swing, my excitement is growing it only seems right to talk about it. By the way, it’s totally acceptable to get the Christmas playlist on the go now, right?

To pick just five favourites from the season seems unfair, but if I don’t draw the line somewhere, I’d end up going on forever. I really love Christmas time and the whole sense of togetherness it brings. It’s just so special and has the ability to make people feel special. Family is everything and a little kindness never goes a miss.

A white Christmas – First on the list, obviously. Who doesn’t love a waking up to a fresh white Christmas morning with droplets of snow falling? There’s something magical about watching the snow fall, even more so on one of the most important days of the calendar year. It’s just so dreamy. I love it. I love walking the dog on a snowy Christmas morning with family and embracing the freshness in the air. I think that snow, definitely makes Christmas day feel like Christmas day. A winter wonderland truly is wonderful.

I won’t lie though, after the Christmas period has ended, I’m happy to be rid of snow and the bitter cold that it too brings with it but for now, I’ll lap up all the snow days I can get.

With being off on maternity leave, fortunately, I have no place to go and can embrace a lie in from time to time if Eleanor allows it and we can spend the days watching the snow fall from the comfort of the window.

Kindness – All too often we are consumed by materialistic lifestyles and can get way too caught up within ourselves that we forget about others. I like that Christmas brings a level of compassion, care, love and support for those around us that we hold dear. Christmas is a time to give, a time to share and a time to bring kindness to all, no matter who we are. It’s so magical how the time of year can bring people together in such a special way. This year,

I feel even more excited for family and making the most of family time as now I have a family of my own, everything really is that extra bit special and I will be making the effort of going the extra mile to make this year a Christmas to remember.

I love to give gifts and spoil people a little but it can get out of hand to keep buying gifts and my pockets aren’t full so come Christmas, I find it so satisfying to treat the ones I love with a little something I have picked out especially, knowing that they will really love it. I like to make others feel special and give good treats. I put a lot of thought into the gifts that I give, I always have.

As a young girl, I’d sit in my bedroom and play Christmas music, watch the classic movies and wrap my gifts I had got for my family. I’d stick a sign on my bedroom door to warn mum and dad not to enter and get to work. I was a terrible at wrapping, this is something that has not changed but I always done it with a sense of pride.

Now that I can take on the roll of Santa too, I feel even more excited. Eleanor is still too young to understand but that doesn’t mean Santa won’t be paying her a little visit on her first Christmas. It just makes everything so much more exciting. Christmas really is for the children and I can’t wait to watch her excitement as she grows to understand over the years.

Christmas decorations – I am a self confessed magpie. I love glitter, sparkles and anything that shines. I have an eye for all things pretty and the festive period certainly meets my inner diva needs and fills my wee heart right up with cheer.

Christmas lights are all around, the streets are lit up, coffee shops have the festive cups out to play. Trees decorated on every corner, wreaths hang pretty on front doors – only a matter of days before I hang mine! Squeal!

There are stockings to hang, santa sacks to fill and so many festive candles, so many festive scents. It’s heaven. It’s busy. It’s love.

Christmas decor is great, I can’t get enough of little bits and bibs to hang and grace the tree with. From a young age, I’ve always taken great pleasure from viewing the Christmas lights and the decorations that surround us all. To this day, it still excites me to dig out the decoration bag and get going with it.

This year, we are taking the day off on the first Saturday of the month and spending the day putting up our decorations around the home while having some festive hot drinks and watching good old classic Christmas movies. Eleanor is so little this Christmas that she won’t understand what is going on but I’m keen to entertain Christmas early and teach her all about it from a young age so that for years to come it remains a special occasion that holds many memories.

Festive drinks – Mulled wine, hot chocolate, you say? Em, hello?! What is a festive period without plenty of hot mulled wine and hot chocolate? It’s a festive essential and with it being so bitterly cold, the hot drinks really help to warm us up. I especially favour a good cup of hot chocolate. Or candy juice as I like to call it. I’ve been having one frequently for the past few weeks and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon. Next weekend, we are going to hit up the local Christmas Market and I will be hoping to catch a good cup of hot chocolate as long as a glass of mulled wine to keep me cosy.

What’s the festive period if you can’t enjoy a good treat?! It is really a time for indulging and spoiling yourself.

Christmas movies – Old or new. Any Christmas film is acceptable in my eyes, so long as it comes after the first of December. It’s okay to binge watch elf on repeat if it is December. I’m excited to spend the weekends indoors, cosied up with blanket forts, candy juice and snacks to make for good TV viewing.

There is something about Christmas movies that really get you in the spirit and make the whole festive season quite special. It’s been a ritual since I was young to watch all the movies based in Christmas. A wonderful life, home alone, elf.. Yep, I’ll be watching them all this year and for years to come. A movie day with plenty of snacks is a great way to spend time with family and remain warm at the same time.

Top tip, ensure plenty of snacks are around. Once the movies begin, you won’t want to move.

Christmas Dinner – Last, but certainly not least, the best part of Christmas is family and the Christmas Dinner. I can’t wait to spend time with my little family just the three of us and have our first family Christmas at home. I plan to out together the a Christmas dinner (my very first) and have the whole day with my family to myself. Yes, I’m greedy for not sharing them with anyone else.

In all seriousness though, what is better than having Christmas day watching old movies, being warm indoors and enjoying a feast full of delicious goodies with your loved ones? I loved waking on Christmas morning as a child and sneaking down stairs with my brother, checking to see that Santa had been and watching Arthur Christmas on the tele.

Now, I’m no master chef and I don’t claim to be, as I will be making the dinner this year round the pressure is on. Luckily though, I’m only hosting for the two of us, if all fails, I’ll be sure to have plenty of snacks to pick from and there will be a selection of wine.. for good measure.

It will be rather strange not being with my own family on Christmas but I wanted this year to be with my own family, the three of us and to make our own Christmas ritual and routines. To make our own memories that we can share for the future.

I’m super excited for that precious family time and the whole of the run up to the big day. I’m trying to keep myself busy and get into the spirit of Christmas. With the snow fall having began, I’m ready to throw on the Christmas playlist and get dancing around the tree.

How are you spending Christmas day? Do you have any family traditions that you love and follow each year? What’s on your dinner menu?